The Dark Side of the Sun
by Rori-Rose
Summary: “From this moment on,” The stranger said, “The son of Kal-El is no more.” This is a dark fic with a lot of twists and turns! A happy ending is guaranteed, but until then, get ready for a lot of angst and drama! This ain't a story for the kiddos!
1. Prologue

**The Dark Side of the Sun**

by Rori Rose

He was soaring through the sky.

No older than five years old and he could already appreciate the gift of flying without wings and parting the heavens with bare hands.

Lois Lane watched as the small boy played in the swing set, his feet lunging straight into the air farther and farther each time he swung forward.

"Up, up, and away!" He would shout in between giggles as he continued soaring.

It was such a peaceful calming sight and as the moment stretched out before her eyes, Lois Lane closed her eyes and careened gently against the wind, allowing the sweet serenity of the moment to envelope her. Gently her lips pursed as she let out a hum to accompany the continuing laughter of the little boy in the swing set.

"It feels like heaven," his soft voice reached her ears just as his arms wrapped themselves around her waist and pulled her back to meet the warmth of his body. "Waking up to the sounds of angels."

Bringing his hands to her lips, she kissed them tenderly as he continued to whisper into her ear.

"He's quite beautiful little boy, Lois," He told her and even though he could not see her eyes, he could feel them light up as a smile grazed her lips. She finally turned around, her hazel orbs meeting his baby blues, and she gently cupped his face with her hands and brought him in for a tender kiss.

"Well, he does take after his father," She whispered as their lips parted. Both returned their attention to the little boy who jumped out of the swing as the voices of his parents interrupted his moment in air.

"Mommy! Daddy! I was flying! Did you see?"

Clark Kent kneeled down and opened his arms as the small whirlwind of a child reached him. He lifted the boy up and squeezed him in a bear hug. "We sure did, buddy!"

"I was flying, daddy! Just like you!" The boy continued, wrapping his arms around his father's neck and hanging on tightly. Lois leaned in and rested her hands on her son's back as she rained gentle kisses on his face.

"You're such a big boy, Connor." She complimented him, as she continued to rub his back. "Are you ready for the big day?"

The little boy nodded his head and proclaimed, "I'm gonna be the bestest big brother ever!"

Clark couldn't help but chuckle at the comment. He bounced the boy softly in his arms, leaned in, and then whispered, "That's my boy. Come next week it's going to be our job to take care of your mother and your little sister."

Above them the sky darkened and sounds of thunder and lightning erupted in the distance.

"There's an eclipse later today," Lois mentioned as she continued caressing her son's face. "Connor's been pretty excited about getting to see it. Will you be around this afternoon, honey?"

Clark shifted the small boy in his arms and said, "I'd love to, Lo, you know I would, but I have to take care of business in Metropolis."

"The city that never rests," Lois said sighing. "You know, as much as I hate having to take a leave from the Daily Planet, this rest has done me a lot of good. Maybe you should consider doing the same. Can't the boys help you out more?"

Clark nodded, "They can and they do, Lois, but it's nearing the holidays and crooks seem to prey on people the most during this time. And Justice League or not, Superman is needed in the city and in the world now more than ever." He paused for a moment and then added, "Look, I'll make it up to you and Connor this weekend. We can go out, do something special."

Lois reached for her son and took him into her arms. His eyes had been slowly closing and as he felt the warmth and comfort of his mother's body, he finally settled down. "You do enough as it already, Clark," She whispered to him. "You don't need to do anything else for this family, but you have been working twice as hard lately as Superman, and I just thought you might need a little break."

"You worry too much." He kissed her softly and Lois shrugged and then laughed as she said, "Motherhood has made me soft. What can I say?"

"Maybe you're right. I guess I can use a little break." Clark finally agreed before kneeling down, gently putting his hands against Lois's belly, and then leaning in and kissing it. "What can I say?" He said looking up at Lois, "I know the feeling."

**\S/**

Lois's eyes shifted rapidly behind her closed eyelids as a torrent of images flashed through her mind polluting her restful slumber. One moment she was a small girl at her mother's funeral receiving her mother's golden cross from her father and the next moment she was drowning in a dark sea, feeling hands beneath her tugging and pulling her under. A terrible cry of agony tore away from her lips and Lois's eyes flew open and she sat up, her body shaking and her eyes purging away the madness of her dreams through salty tears.

_More nightmares_…Lois thought as she rubbed her shoulders gently, trying to calm herself down. Before she could reason with her imaginings, the bedroom door flew open and Connor ran inside and jumped on the bed and assaulted his mother with a giant hug.

"Whoa, there baby, you're going to suffocate your mother!" Lois teased as her son looked up and grinned. "Mommy, the clipse is here! The clipse is here!"

Lois yawned as she rose out of bed, lifting her son into her arms and walked lazily across the room to the window and parted the curtains. Sure enough, in the distance, the moon was slowly devouring the sun.

"Do you have your protective glasses, sweetie? The ones that daddy told you to wear for the eclipse today?" Lois asked and her son poked at his pockets and took out the shades used to filter out the sun's harmful rays and showed them off proudly to his mother.

"Well put them on," Lois said as she walked towards the dresser and opened one of the drawers, "And then mommy will do the same, and we can go outside and watch the eclipse safely."

Connor wiggled himself free from his mother's hold and ran towards the door, "Come on mommy, we don't want to miss it!" He called out as he opened the door.

Lois began rushing calling out to her son, "Baby, don't go so fast!"

Outside the world was now ravaged by shadows. Lois adjusted her protective glasses and hurried along to her son's favorite spot, the tree behind the barn where Clark and Connor had built a small tree house over the summer.

As Lois walked to the tree house, she noticed the doors to the barn were opened and a small pool of light had formed in the entrance. For a moment, Lois thought that maybe Clark had returned, but as Connor called out to his mother, Lois pushed the thought aside and hurried to her son.

Lois reached Connor and grabbed his hand tightly and said, "Don't you run off like that again, baby. You know you're mommy can't keep up with you because of your sister." Lois stopped the lecture as she noticed her son's attention on the sky. She joined him for a moment, marveling at the stunning sight. It was a rare and magnificent occurrence to see an eclipse like this, and Lois remembered the first time she had seen an eclipse herself when she too was just a child like Connor. She remembered her mother being alive at that time, and not just alive, but well too, healthy, her body not yet riddle with the cancer that would eventually consumer her life flame.

As Lois closed her eyes and pictured the fading memory of her family, she felt her son tug and free himself from her grasp.

"Let's go up the hill, mommy!" He said rushing forward.

Lois was about to call after him when she felt a powerful bolt of pain surge through her body. Overpowered by the sudden ache, she kneeled down on the ground, shaking so much that she almost lost her balance. She began breathing fast and then kneeled down. As she touched the ground, she felt her protective shades fall down. Slowly a strange dizziness overtook her.

After a moment, the sensation finally went away and she got up and called out to her son. She could see him in the distance, climbing up the hill a few yards away and pointing up at the sky. Lois followed his fingers and stared at the eclipse, now complete, so beautiful and powerful, and then suddenly let out a cry of pain as she felt an intense searing pain in her eyes.

"Shit!" She called out, rubbing her eyes as she remembered that she had dropped her shades on the ground. "Come over here, Connor. I think your mother has just received permanent ocular damage." Lois teased and rubbed her eyes furiously for a moment before daring to look out. When she finally did open her eyes, they were met with a world of darkness.

Lois blinked once and then twice, hard. Slowly a tinted light began to flow into the surroundings again. And that is when Lois saw that Conner was no longer ahead in the distance. The hill was empty and Lois turned around looking for her son. "Connor? Sweetie?" She called out, her chest suddenly tightening.

She rushed back to the porch of the house calling his name out loud over and over. There was no response, only the howling of the wind as the darkness from the eclipse continued to set in.

"Connor! Where are you? You know mommy doesn't like to play hide and seek!" Lois stopped abruptly as she heard the doors from the barn creak. She turned around, her eyes glued to the pool of light she had seen before. "Connor?" She called out once more, her body still paralyzed.

She began to move towards the barn, the world around her seeming to fade, and the moment before her slowing down dramatically. As she entered the barn, all she could hear was the deep beating of her heart.

"Baby?" She called out, her voice echoing within the walls of the large structure. "Baby come out, please." Her voice was now trembling and her eyes were clouding with tears of unknown fear.

In the distance she saw a shadow moving and as she stepped closer she saw a large pool of crimson liquid. "Oh god—!" Her voice was cut off by the feeling of hands grabbing her shoulders and then she was flying backwards in the air.

Her body collided with the ground and her eyes widened as the shadowy figure loomed over her. "Please, where is my son?" She called out as the figure leaned in, its face materializing from behind the shadows almost as if by magic.

Lois did not recognize the face of the man before her, but she did recognize what she saw lurking in his eyes, madness. "What have you done to my son?!" Lois screamed out, pushing her arms forward, ready to attack the intruder when she felt the slick edge of his knife against her neck and she fell back against the ground.

"From this moment on," The stranger said, "The son of Kal-El is no more."

Lois winced at the words as though they were made out of fire that burned at the touch. Her body began trembling, but before she could react, the man brought down the knife to her stomach and pressed it.

"Please, I'm pregnant!" Lois cried out as she felt the point of the knife penetrate her tender belly. But her words merely provided a preset to the howls and cries of agony that proceeded as the stranger plunged the knife deep into her belly and Lois's world fell into darkness.

.

.

.

.

_**Author's Note**__: This concludes the prologue of "The Dark Side of the Sun." Thank you for reading this far. I have most of this story visually mapped out in my mind, the beginning, middle, and end, but will be writing this chapter by chapter. I will begin writing chapter one tonight and hope to post it sometime this week. Due to time constraints, I will not be updating this fic daily, but rather, weekly. If there is an interest in the continuation to this story, please let me know._


	2. Chapter 1

**Dark Side of the Sun – Chapter 1**

**15 Years Later**

**Metropolis - Outside City Hall - Morning**

Cheers and applause echoed throughout the streets of Metropolis originating from an assembly being held in the middle of city. As the crowd—whose first layer was composed of eager journalists and photographers—adjusted, a well-dressed man in a charcoal suit approached the pulpit and took hold of the microphone, pausing slightly as the murmurs in the crowd slowly die down. The man's face was chiseled precisely, as if by the hand of Michelangelo himself; his eyes, two dark pools of light, were bold and held the direct attention of his audience. Finally speaking, his firm and powerful tone seamlessly complimented his confident demeanor.

"_There once was a time when the darkened streets of Gotham brought fear to every man, woman, and child, when wave after wave of crime threatened to erode the very foundation of the city itself. Those who chose to work their evil deeds by the cover of night held Gotham at ransom, until one day, a dark knight appeared and began to fight back. And although this infamous masked vigilante's actions alone did not strengthen the city's foundation, it did spur the city's demand for a greater beacon of hope. Mayor John Alden took the reigns over Gotham two years ago, and since his stern hold of the city, crime has gone down at dramatic rates. People feel safe again in the streets, even after sunset. _

_Today Metropolis is faced with a dilemma not unfamiliar to the one faced by Gotham._

_I come here to you now in support of Andrew Agathy, a man whose campaign for mayor of Metropolis I proudly support. Andrew Agathy will bring about change, and end Lex Luthor's reign of destruction and his unlawful misuse of his title as mayor._

_This great metropolitan city will not go down in flames, not like other cities around us have done in the past. I am here to bring an important message that I have taken years to learn. What makes for great change is not war, but great leaders of peace. Mr. Agathy has fought hard to peacefully voice the concerns of his people while standing courageously against those malevolent forces who wish nothing more than to break the spirit of this city. _

_The darkness that surrounds us can be overwhelming in its persistency and unyielding nature. This year Metropolis hit an all time high in crime, far surpassing the record that Gotham held not too long ago. Gotham fought back and won, Metropolis can do the same, and I, Bruce Wayne, am here to tell you that Andrew Agathy will bring about the needed change. _

_Support this city; support the spirit of your fellow people. Support Andrew Agathy for mayor._

_Thank you very much._

The crowd recharged with cheers and applause. Mr. Wayne raised his hand and leaned forward to the microphone once more, stating: "I will take a few questions at this time."

Immediately, the layers of the journalists at the front raised their hands, a few eager gentlemen shouting out their questions before being called upon. Finally Mr. Wayne signaled for a young man in the front who asked if Mr. Wayne was ready to back up Mr. Agathy and the city with his billion dollar name plate. The crowd chuckled at the comment and so did Mr. Wayne who calmly answered that neither Agathy nor the city required his name plate to succeed.

"Once Agathy assumes power," Bruce Wayne attested, "Productivity and wealth will be cultivated easily within the walls of this great metropolitan city."

An older woman was selected next; she asked if Gotham would have to do without this playboy millionaire from now on.

"Gotham will always be my home, but I am slowly adapting to Metropolis—" Bruce answered, but was interrupted by a familiar voice.

"Is it really possible, Mr. Wayne, to try to govern Metropolis all the way from Gotham?"

The crowd murmured loudly as Bruce adjusted and spoke clearly into the microphone, "Thank you, Mr. Clark Kent, from our very own Daily Planet, for the question. You have just given me a great entryway into my next announcement. As of today, Metropolis, you can consider me another member of this great metropolitan city."

Taken off guard, Clark inquired further, "Are you stating here, for the record, Mr. Wayne, that you will now occupy Metropolis as a permanent residence?"

"Yes, but I will by no means take the credit for this decision," Bruce stated, "The choice was really made by my wife, Lois Lane."

The flurry of chaotic noise resumed as Bruce and Clark casted steely stares upon one another, a decade of unspoken words visible in both of their eyes.

**Metropolis Airport**

**That Same Morning**

A private aircraft with the name "Wayne Enterprise" arrived in the Metropolis airport. Slowly the roaring from the engine and rotating propeller came to a stop, and the main door opened and a staircase descended onto the ground. Lara Joanne Kent, a petite young girl with cascading blonde locks, stepped out through the threshold, momentarily taking in a breath of fresh air. As she was about to take the first step down, however, a hand poked out through the door and stopped her.

"Don't forget your cane again, Lara." Lois Lane said handing her daughter a wooden walk aid.

The girl shook her head and pushed it away and descended down the steps freely, "For the last time, mom, I don't need it."

Successfully, both mother and daughter made it down the steps. Hand in hand, they entered the airport's waiting area. "You know, you're still as stubborn as when you were eight years old." Lois said with a chuckle. "God forbid I ever delivered you a few minutes late to your father's house. You'd give me the silent treatment until I promised to make it up to you the next weekend with your father."

"Yeah, well, dad says I take after you in that department," Lara smirked as she made her way towards the seating area and sat down.

"Is that so?" Lois asked joining her daughter. "You know, I still don't know how you do that, know where everything when you're--"

Lois stopped and Lara finished for her mom, "Blind? It's okay, mom, I've been like this since I was six years old. I don't mind not being able to see, besides, it's just given me a chance to hone in my other four senses."

"Yeah, well, seeing isn't all it's cracked up to be," Lois said. "I mean, look at me, I trip just about every eight seconds and don't ask me to count the times I bump into furniture."

"That's every _other_ second," Lara quipped, "At least that's what dad says."

"Yeah, well your dad seems to think he knows me pretty well, doesn't he?" Lara nodded and for a moment Lois was taken aback by the serenity in her daughter's face at the mere mention of her father. "You really love your dad, don't you sweetie?"

The young girl nodded and said, "He misses you, you know."

"Lara," Lois began patiently. "We've had this conversation countless times and it always ends the same. Your father and I have been divorced for over ten years now and we've both made our peace with it. There's no sense in drudging up any past spirits with a meeting."

"You haven't seen him face to face in over six years. Isn't that a little drastic?" Lara asked.

"Life became complicated, Lara. You know that sweetie." Lois sighed then opened her mouth to say something but shut it down when the words didn't quite come to her.

"I can hear you breathing hard, mom." Lara said. "You don't have to get so upset every time I mention dad."

"You and that hearing of yours, Lara. I swear it's reminding me more and more of your dad's pesky hearing ability every day now."

Lara chuckled, "You haven't answered my question, mom. Isn't not seeing dad for almost a decade a little drastic? He's still in love with you, and you're—"

"Married to Bruce," Lois finished "He's your father too, you know that."

"He is, and I love him," Lara said, "But…I want you to be happy, and I know that you're happiest when you're with dad."

"And how would you know that if apparently it's been close to a decade since I've seen your father?"

"Because I still remember when I was little and you _did_ visit each other," Lara said. She leaned up against her mother and rested her head on her thighs. "I would cry every time you would leave me at dads, and not because I didn't like it there like you thought, but because I liked seeing the two of you together so much that it would break my heart every time you left."

Lois laughed, "Ah, a little culprit even as a young child."

"Yeah, well, you two were so much fun together." Lara continued, "I love how you would always try to cook for us, but then end up burning the food." She laughed, "And then you'd ask how the food was and dad would just stutter saying it was great."

"Your dad never could lie," Lois began and then stopped to add indignantly, "Hey, I did not _always _burn the food!"

"And he sat through all the meals, and listened to me go on and on about our new life alongside Bruce without ever saying a negative word, and now thinking back on it, I can't even imagine how hard it must have been to see us becoming a family with someone that wasn't him." Lara sniffled and then sat up. She looked away from her mother for a moment before adding, "Everything he does, even as Superman, he does it for us, mom. You and me. We're his world."

Lara turned around, her empty blue orbs flooded with tears. Lois leaned in and gently wiped a rogue tear that slid down her daughter's cheek. "How did you get so insightful all of a sudden, young lady? I'm supposed to be the adult remember?"

"I just miss you two together, mom. And I know dad does too." Lara said as Lois wrapped her arms around her daughter and hugged her lovingly.

"You know you're the most important person in my life," Lois said softly. "If you've been unhappy alongside Bruce all this time, I wouldn't have ever hesitated to leave—"

"No, no." Lara immediately replied, "I love Bruce, and he's been there for me, too. He's my family, mom. I mean, who else would suffer through my constant demands of bedtime story after bedtime story when I was little? And now that I'm older who's always there to scare of any boy that comes knocking at my door?" Lara paused for a moment as her words sunk in and then added with a grin, "Okay, maybe I wouldn't mind him leaving after all." Lois laughed and Lara complimented her spirit with a smile. "But seriously mom, I love both of my dad's."

"And that is why Bruce and I have made this move, Lara. For you. We want you to be close to all your parents, and your grandmother too."

"What about Aunt Chloe and Uncle Ollie? Won't they be farther away now?" Lara asked.

"Yes, but the last time I checked, you've been pretty good about locking in those air miles between both of your fathers."

Lara giggled, "Bruce's jets are amazing mom, but nothing beats flying solo with dad."

"Tell me about it," Lois said, reminiscing for a moment on old times. "Look, Lara, if it means that much to you, I'll consider visiting your father more often."

"Do you mean that mom?"

"Yes, but you have to be patient with me."

"Oh, but it doesn't have to be right away," Lara said. "And Bruce can come if you'd like."

"Speaking of Bruce," Lois said turning to glance at the clock. "He's late."

Lois stared out at the window, looking up at the sky with worried expression on her face.

**Metropolis**

**Luthor Enterprise**

Looking up at the same sky, a drunken Lex Luthor stood at the window of his twenty story corporate building sulking in the disappointment of his political career. His term as mayor of Metropolis had been a complete failure, and now he was facing a possible impeachment. To compound matters further, Bruce Wayne had wasted little time in finding a replacement for the new voice of Metropolis.

Gulping the last bitter drops of alcohol, Lex tossed away the bottle of 1787 Chateau Lafite into the trash can and without any thoughts of sobering up, grabbed another bottle of wine from the cooler next to his desk and reclaimed his position against the window.

Outside the sky was clear until a shadow entered view. For a moment Lex felt his entire body tighten, the wine bottle in his hand fell and shattered in the floor, and his eyes widened—the pit of darkness in his eyes revealing through its reflection the horror of an aircraft heading straight into Luthor Corp, straight for Lex Luthor himself.

The noise of the explosion echoed throughout the city of Metropolis, leaving a momentary dead silence in its wake, until a rapid crescendo of new explosions suddenly took its place.

One after another, each one of Luthor Corps buildings in Metropolis went up in flames.

**  
End of Chapter 1**

**_Author's Note: _**_Please remember,this is a story that will have a lot of twists and turns, and will definitely have readers saying "What the f--k??" at least once in every chapter. Some of the things that will get under your skin (like the Lois and Bruce) will **not** be as bad as they seem, while others (and I won't give you an example because I don't want to ruin the suspense) will end up being a lot worse than you would have ever thought possible._

_If I do my job correctly as a writer, at the end of this story you will have laughed, cried, screamed, and cursed at least once. And bloody well meant every emotion!_

_This is a dark fic and it's gonna have a lot of gut wrenching moments, but it will also have light, funny moments, and as mentioned earlier there will eventually be a light at the end of the tunnel. But it will be a long time coming so you must be patient. And I can also foresee that this story will not be for everyone. Some may be turned off by Brois, but if readers leave for that, then maybe it's a good thing because more than likely they wouldn't have been able to stomach what's coming next. It's gonna be huge. It's gonna be controversial. It's gonna be...well...you'll see._


	3. Chapter 2

**The Dark Side of the Sun – Chapter 2**

_Note: The italicized portions of this chapter are flashbacks. _

**Beyond the Earth's Atmosphere**

The dead silence of the universe devoured him whole as he floated above the Earth's atmosphere and closed his eyes. Darkness, hell fire, and destruction became the theme of the images that flooded his mind. For a moment, he was no longer floating above the Earth but instead, standing amid a desert planet overwhelmed by a cacophony of shrieks and howling that blended together to create a pandemonium of terror that spread throughout the planet.

Beneath him the ground trembled, and above him the wind wailed and relentlessly pounded against his face, slowly tearing at his tender flesh with its salty composition. Shadow figures flew into view and began surrounding him in a flurry of madness. His body tightened and his heart began to pound against his chest, harder and harder until its sound began to slowly smother his entire being.

Overwhelmed by his surroundings, his body shutdown and he collapsed on both knees just as a scream tore through his lips and joined the echoing chaos of the world around him.

His eyes were round and wide when they finally snapped open and the desert land vanished from his vision. Reflected through the darkness of his pupils was the Earth, quickly expanding as he returned back to Earth in search of the man that he would kill, in search of the man that was not really a man, but an alien known to the world as _Superman_.

**Back on Earth**

**Smallville – Kent Farmhouse **

The world turned the color of darkened ash as a thunderstorm overtook the heavens and powerful bolts of lightning tore through the flesh of clouds crashing upon the slumbering farmlands of Smallville.

Clark Kent lay in bed moving restlessly as he listened to the sounds of the storm outside. For the past 72 hours he had not rested; instead he had spent every waking moment alongside police and firefighters in Metropolis working together to stop the chaos and panic that had spread throughout the city when explosions rippled through the streets and buildings went up in flames.

At first the fear had been a foreign terrorists attack, but as the first day progressed it quickly became evident that there was only one target and that was Lex Luthor and his billion dollar empire. In total, more than a dozen of his corporate buildings went up in flames. Hundreds of lives were lost and nearly twice as many were injured. Among the list of casualties one name stuck out in every headline in Metropolis and across the world, the name of Lex Luthor himself.

The effort to keep Metropolis, which had suffered the most damage from the attack, controlled had been massive and Superman had offered his services immediately. Day and night he had worked to maintain order and civility and to prevent fear from creating more chaos and destruction.

At the dawn of the third day, the city finally returned to its normal working condition and although no answers had been uncovered as to the motive for the attack and no suspects had been named Superman was finally able to get away from Metropolis and rest.

What awaited Clark Kent was an empty house back in Smallville, a house that he rarely spent much time in nowadays but a house that had been his home long ago.

Emotionally raw from the devastations of the past few days, Clark found himself unable to put up his protective walls as memories of the past suddenly over flooded him.

He carried himself across the house like a ghost and didn't bother to change before going to bed. He collapsed on the bed and attempted to go to sleep, but his eyes like the rusty doors on an old car refused to close. He remained silently awake for hours. And when slumber finally made its way to him, all he saw was her face.

Like a flicker of a dying candle flame, the image of Lois Lane flashed before his eyes and then slowly faded. Clark found himself with open eyes, staring at the ceiling and at the dancing shadows.

Lois…

Lois…

It was the only thing he could think of. For so many years he had forced himself to learn how to live without her, to learn how to force any thought of her away, but tonight, tonight he couldn't.

Tonight she was all he could think about. And he knew why. Lois Lane was officially moving back to Metropolis, and while the thought of having more visitations with his daughter thrilled him, the thought of now being physically closer to Lois than ever before scared him.

Years ago he had promised Lois that he would leave her alone, that he would respect her wishes to end their marriage. Clark had fought long and hard to keep Lois alive and well, but it hadn't been enough. After losing Connor, Lois was never the same. He was never the same. Their marriage crumbled and no superpowers could have prevented it. And so she left, and Clark had respected her wishes to keep his distance, but having her so near now, well, he didn't know if he could continue respecting those wishes any longer.

He longed to be near her, longed to hold her in his arms. He longed to kiss her and make love to her. He longed to be her friend, partner, husband and soulmate once again.

And tonight was not the first night that Clark was missing Lois Lane.

The truth was he missed her _every_ night. Yet over the course of the past ten years, he had learned to bury his emotions and to keep his mind busy, even when resting. Clark had in many ways become at expert at deceiving himself, pretending that he was alright when he really wasn't, when he hadn't felt whole since Lois's departure so many years before.

And yet even in his empty state, Clark could go on each day, minute by minute without feeling the pangs of the past. Tonight he was not so lucky. Tonight, all he could do was think of Lois, of his family, and what could have been.

"_Run!" Lois shouted giddily as the first specs of rain kissed his face. "Come on, Clark! We don't want to get caught in the rain again." But turning around she saw Clark Kent just standing, staring at her with the oddest expression she had ever seen. "Clark?" She called out after him._

"_I have to do this now, Lois," Clark said as Lois returned back for her partner. _

"_You know we are getting wet," Lois said reaching Clark and looking around. "We're just a few blocks away from our apartment, what are you waiting for?"_

"_I've been waiting for the perfect moment, Lois," Clark admitted, "And then I just realized that there is no perfect moment…" He thought for a second and then said, "They're all perfect when I'm with you, Lois."_

_  
She smiled and closed the gap between them. "Is that so? Then maybe we should—"_

_  
Clark silenced her with a finger and said, "Don't take this the wrong way, Lois, but please shut up. My heart is racing, my body is shaking and I've never been more terrified in my entire life than I am right now. I can't put up with your snark, not right now, not when I'm about to ask you--" He stopped, watching her silently gaze at him, without any clue as to what he was going to do, as to what he had been trying to do all month long. "Oh god, how I love you." He said, kissing her gently and then kneeling down and taking out a small box from his pocket. Looking up he finally asked, "Lois Lane, will you marry me?"_

"_Oh my god," Lois mouth opened and then clamped shut. She talked too much, she always did, and always would, but right now she knew she didn't need to say anything more than what she said softly in the next moment, "Yes."_

For a moment Clark wondered if he had made a mistake that night, uniting his life with Lois, and consequently setting the first step for the devastation that would occur later on.

"_You're pacing!" Clark stated as Lois walked hurriedly back and forth. "That means your upset. Look, Lois, I made a mistake, and I'm sorry. I shouldn't have told Perry not to send you out on assignment last night. I overstepped my boundaries. We're partners, best friends, and we're married, but more importantly, I trust you, and Lois, I DO trust you, but I was scared, scared that you would go alone and that I wouldn't be there to protect you. I was selfish, and I was wrong, and you can't imagine how sorry I am." _

"_I'm not upset, Clark." Lois said, continuing her pacing._

"_Then you're obviously hurt, which is worse than upset, I know—" Clark stopped when he saw Lois finally standing still. He could hear her heart racing, and when she turned, tears filled her eyes. "Lois, you have every right to feel this way—"_

"_Clark, shut up." Lois said._

"_Okay, I can do that." Clark said flatly._

"_This has nothing to do with what happened yesterday at work." Lois said walking up to Clark, her lips trembling. "I'm not upset. I understand. You were wrong, but I understand."_

_Clark swallowed hard. He wanted to apologize again, but he felt that Lois had something else on her mind, something that was obviously taking precedence over his recent blunder._

_  
"There's something that I just found out about this morning and I've been trying all day to tell you, but damnit, I just couldn't find a way to say it."_

_*A divorce. She wanted a divorce*, Clark immediately thought. *After all these months married together, Lois has finally had enough with me, with my over-protectiveness, with my daily and nightly manifestations as Superman, with my constant—_

"_Clark, I'm pregnant!" Lois suddenly said and Clark's neck nearly snapped as he shook his thoughts away and looked at Lois with wide eyes._

"_You're…you're—?"_

"_Pregnant!" Lois repeated. "That's what I've been trying to tell you all day long, Clark. We're going to have a baby!"_

Outside the rain finally stopped pouring and a strange silent swept through the room. Clark opened his eyes to the darkness of the night as he remembered his son.

"_He's so tiny," Clark said with absolute amazement as he held his newborn son in his hands._

"_Not so tiny when he's coming out of your body, but yes—" Lois said from the bed, watching as her husband held their son in his hands. "You know, Clark, you don't have to keep staring at him like that. I promise he will not disappear if you take your eyes away from him for one second."_

_Clark smiled at her teasing remarks, but then stopped and swallowed hard as he felt his body shaking with emotion. Tears started filling his eyes and he just whispered. "He's so tiny."_

"_Oh boy, " Lois muttered and sat up. She got out of bed, moaning slightly, and walked up to Clark and gently caressed his face. "He's real and he's ours, Clark. All ours."_

_Clark nodded, finally looking onto Lois and the rest of his tears followed. "How can I love him so much already, Lois? He's barely been with us for a couple of hours and yet…"_

"_Oh yeah," Lois nodded. "We're gonna be in big trouble when he gets older. Those baby blues of his will coerce us into doing anything." Lois gently leaned in and kissed her son on the forehead. "Then again, I'm used it. Your baby blues have been ruling my heart for many years now."_

"_I never thought I would be a father," Clark began as he gently rocked their son in his arms. "I always wanted to, but I just didn't think it was possible. I was so scared when we first started dating, Lois. I knew you'd eventually want this, and I the thought that I'd never be able to give you a son…" more tears fell from his eyes and he leaned in and pressed his lips against his son's forehead. "We'll do more than love him, Lois. We'll give him the world."_

How had he done it? Clark wondered as the memory faded and he wiped a few rogue tears. How had he gone so many nights without thinking of that moment? Of the moment when Clark felt with absolutely certainty that he had been sent by his parents exactly where he belonged. Growing up all Clark wanted was to be normal. Lois changed that. She made him want to be extraordinary, made him want to be Superman. And then his son made him want even more than that, his son made him want to save the world.

"_Up, up, and away, daddy! Up, up, and away!" Connor cheered out loud as he pretended to be flying with his hands. "Look, daddy! Look! Swoosh!!!!!!!!" _

_He came running up to his father and Clark picked him up gently, placing one hand under his chest and then other under his thighs and began running with him through the house. _

"_You're flying, son!" He said. "Look at you go!_

"_Mommy! Mommy!" Connor called out, giggling as his father continued helping him fly. _

"_Mommy, look! I'm flying!"_

_Lois came out of the study room in time to see Clark and her son rushing past her. _

_Connor held his arms in front of him in a pose similar to the one he had witnessed his father inhabit each time he took off._

_Lois immediately began laughing and followed Clark with their son outside._

"_You're soaring, baby!" Lois called out._

_Clark put Connor down and the little boy ran over to Lois. "Did you see me, mommy?"_

"_Oh yeah," She said ruffling his hair with her hands. "You looked just like daddy."_

_The little boy smiled pleased at the comment and then turned back to his daddy who was walking up to him and took him back up in his arms. _

"_He's a natural, honey," He told Lois, leaning in and kissing her gently. The little boy hung on by his father's neck and turned around to meet his mother's gaze._

"_Yes, you are, baby, just like your father." She said, kissing her son again. "And you look more and more like your daddy each day, too." Lois stepped back and looked at both of them; her eyes began to water. "Look at you two," she said smiling wide. "The loves of my life."_

_  
Clark laughed, "And look at YOU two." He said looking at Lois and then at her belly. "The loves of MY life."_

_Lois's eyes widened and then she pressed her finger against her lips. "Shh…remember we said we would wait to tell Connor…"_

"_Tell me what, mommy?" Connor asked and Lois bit down on her lip._

_  
"Oh come on, this is great news!" Clark said and he began tickling his son who immediately broke out in a fit of giggles. "Your mommy's gonna give us a wonderful present in a nine months, Connor."_

"_Present! Present!" the little boy began and Lois laughed._

"_Oh boy, look at what you've started. Hand him over, you big lug." Lois said and took her son into her arms. She hugged him tenderly and waited for him to settle down and then looked at him and said, "You're mommy is going to have another baby, Connor. We're hoping a little girl, so you can take care of her. What do you think of that, sweetie? A little sister to play with."_

_  
Lois waited, her eyes turning to Clark for a moment, and then back to her son who suddenly burst out, "Sister! Sister! I want a sister!"_

_Clark began laughing hard. "See, now that you have Connor's seal of approval," he said as he wrapped his arms around Lois and his son. "We can start telling the world."_

"_You'd love that wouldn't you?" Lois said shaking her head. "Can't we have just a few days to let it all sink in?"_

"_I can't help it, Lois," Clark said kissing her tenderly. "Each day you make me the happiest man in the world, and I just want everyone to know. You're my miracle, Lois. I love you."_

In the distance, the final cries of a dying storm echoed across the sleeping farmland. And as the night grew older, the figure remained covered in layers of darkness, his steely blue eyes stalking every movement inside the Kent bedroom watching the restless motions of an adversary he would soon battle.

"Sleep tonight, Kal-El, for tomorrow your hell begins."

**End of Chapter 2**

_**Author's Note**__: I completely changed this chapter when I woke up this morning. I had initially written this chapter as an introduction to the story's villain, but then I realized that I hadn't given much insight into the Clark Kent character. So, I modified the chapter. You still see a bit of what the villain is thinking at the beginning, but who this person is exactly is still a mystery. And it will not be revealed until chapter 4, and it's not because I want to keep you all in suspense but rather because I want to explain what has been going on with Lois and Clark during these past years. That is very important and crucial to the story, so the villain is coming and once he arrives he should hurry the plot and action along! _


End file.
